easter feaster

easter this year was a lot of fun. if you can remember last year, vi was a bit of a diva on easter morn so we were a little bummed out. this year, she made up for it!

the festivities started at the annual egg dye at grammy's house. vi was right in the middle of this action...in nothing but her striped panties, she dyed the eggs, dipped her fingers and painted anything in sight. the one sure way to keep violet busy for more than 5 minutes is to give her an art project involving paint.
*disclaimer: this new blogger uploads my photos funky. i have them turned the right way on my computer but some just will NOT upload the right way. you may just have to tilt your head...

the next morning, nana and gramps hosted an easter egg hunt for all the grandbabies. following the example of her older cousins, vi quickly filled her basket with all sorts of goodies. ivy, on the other hand, was quite content to sit on the grass with her one egg. she smiled on at all the madness.

my mom even made some cute deviled eggs for the brunch with the dyes eggs from the night before. she is a clever one...


when easter morning came around, vi was psyched out of her gourd. the easter bunny had brought her the one thing she always dreamed of: a snow white dress. i wasn't sure if i would ever witness anything cuter than hearing her sing "someday my prince will come" and "i'm wishing" from the snow white movie- but when she got that dress on and started singing, it was cute-overload. that snow white dress is barely off of her and i have had to do extra loads of laundry to keep it clean. between the snow white dress and her grey "princess skirt," this gal looks ready for a ball every day. vi's other favorite find was new chapstick. to say that she loves chapstick is a sore understatement. the last tube she had rarely left her clenched fist. she would apply layer after layer until the reflection off those lips was blinding. new chapstick was a welcome addition!

ivy was thrilled to get a new swimming suit, a sun hat and some sandals. can't you tell by her face?

after inspecting gifts, vi flew around the house finding eggs. without the competition of any other kids, she was sure loving life- and she was sure to point out that ivy hadn't found ANY eggs. ivy just smiled.


church on easter sunday is always especially great. this year, cade and i were asked to speak in sacrament meeting. it was a great opportunity to share our testimonies of the Savior and His Atonement. contrary to popular belief, cade and i don't sit around and bear our testimonies to one another all day, every day. sure, we share our thoughts and feeling with one another but it was nice to hear cade at the pulpit on easter. he is a GOOD man. and i love him to bits.

after church, it was back to grammy's house for easter dinner and another egg hunt. the kiddos were all still gussied up so we thought it would make for a great photo op. too bad they all had other plans... we could not get them to all look up at us. my favorite kids to watch were owen and violet. without any sort of encouragement, they held hands and eventually put their arms around one another. they have a special, little bond.

we also got a few family shots while we were dressed nicely. we needed a family photo update. since ivy was born, i feel like we have been so busy and crazy that i rarely pick up the camera- let alone go out and have our pictures taken. we were all together and no puke or poop was visible- so we will call it a success.

the night at grammy's was great. lots of candy, lots of love, lots of fun. this last picture sums up how great the night really was:

gramps is a good sport!